 | The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer |  |
247
MONODY.
She lies the green turf under,
Regardless of our tears,
From sun and air excluded
In the May time of her years:
Wild violets are springing
To decorate the spot,
And birds are blithely singing,
But, ah! she hears them not.
Regardless of our tears,
From sun and air excluded
In the May time of her years:
Wild violets are springing
To decorate the spot,
And birds are blithely singing,
But, ah! she hears them not.
When frosts, untimely falling,
Kill fragile flower and leaf,
Within the heart a feeling
Awakes akin to grief;
And often in the summer
We mark, with look forlorn,
Thick clouds that darken suddenly
The lustre of the morn.
Kill fragile flower and leaf,
Within the heart a feeling
Awakes akin to grief;
And often in the summer
We mark, with look forlorn,
Thick clouds that darken suddenly
The lustre of the morn.
Think not of blossom withered,
Or over-clouded dawn,
When those of rare endowments
Forever are withdrawn;
Beneath the turf we lay them
In anguish hard to bear,
And resignation comes not
To brighten our despair.
Or over-clouded dawn,
When those of rare endowments
Forever are withdrawn;
Beneath the turf we lay them
In anguish hard to bear,
And resignation comes not
To brighten our despair.
I know that friends may whisper,
Though bitterly bereaved:
In sorrow's funeral web-work
Are threads of gold inweaved:
They died ere chilled the fountain
Of bliss within the soul,
Or sin's deforming characters
Made dark life's chequered scroll.
Though bitterly bereaved:
248
Are threads of gold inweaved:
They died ere chilled the fountain
Of bliss within the soul,
Or sin's deforming characters
Made dark life's chequered scroll.
We ill can spare thus early
A loveliness so bright:
To helpless age more fitting
Is death and starless night:
We fain would clasp such treasures
The bower of home to cheer,
And lend a gleam of sunshine
To earth so dark and drear.
A loveliness so bright:
To helpless age more fitting
Is death and starless night:
We fain would clasp such treasures
The bower of home to cheer,
And lend a gleam of sunshine
To earth so dark and drear.
Though many were her rivals
In learning's crowded hall,
She won the prize of honor,
Esteemed and loved by all;
The modesty of merit
Was written on her face,
And by her mates unenvied
She held the highest place.
In learning's crowded hall,
She won the prize of honor,
Esteemed and loved by all;
The modesty of merit
Was written on her face,
And by her mates unenvied
She held the highest place.
Not all of her hath perished!
Her young and ardent mind
Hath left a written record
Of burning thoughts behind;
And memories of her outlive
Death's desolating power,
Like fragrance clinging to the leaf
When blighted stalk and flower.
Her young and ardent mind
Hath left a written record
Of burning thoughts behind;
And memories of her outlive
Death's desolating power,
Like fragrance clinging to the leaf
When blighted stalk and flower.
| The poetical works of William H. C. Hosmer | |